“I dream of liberating my native Luhansk “: an officer of the legendary battalion “Donbass “told about the fighting in the east
The officer of the special purpose battalion “Donbass” of the 15th Slavic Regiment of the National Guard of the Saints spoke about the participation of his unit in the defense of Luhansk region and the Slobozhansky offensive.
The holidays have been fighting against the Russian invaders since 2014. For him, this is a personal matter, because he comes from temporarily occupied Luhansk.
“On February 24, I met on the border with Russia, saw missiles flying. We took pre-prepared positions to meet the columns of Russians, but they changed the direction of their movement,” Svyat says.
The enemy managed to make a rapid breakthrough in Luhansk region, due to the multiple superiority in artillery and armored vehicles. “We pulled back to Svatove, later moved to Lysychansk, spent several days there at the factory.
And then they went towards Zhytlivka, near Kreminna, and there they took up defense. The enemy attacked with tanks. We fought back, but the forces were not equal. We retreated to Zakitny,” the officer recalls the events of spring 2022. “There we destroyed a lot of equipment, a crossing and a large amount of enemy manpower. After that, we were redirected to Soledar. From Yakovlivka, the Russians went on the offensive, but by their general efforts this offensive attempt was stopped.
Subsequently, Svyat participated in the Slobozhansky offensive, took part in the battles in the Kharkiv and Lyman directions. “It all started in Volokhovy Yar.
On the first day of the assault, we liberated most of the settlement. At night, Russian planes operated air bombs on us. Unfortunately, there were people who died there,” Svyat shares. Then his unit moved to the Estuary direction, where the offensive operation was also deployed.
“Our commanders decided to conduct a raid, a brazen aggressive offensive. The forces of our battalion just burst in there and the enemy was very surprised. We acted as aggressively as possible, then panic just started, and the Russians fled, threw equipment and weapons,” the guard said.
The Svyata unit is constantly involved in combat tasks in the Luhansk region and the Lyman area, participates in violent clashes. They are motivated, trained warriors who are united by the common values and brotherhood of the special forces.
“A special purpose unit is like a family. Everyone appreciates and respects each other. It is not a friend who dies, but a brother,” explains Svyat. Above all, he dreams of liberating his native Luhansk from Russian occupiers and collaborators and returning home.
Recall that the legendary battalion “Donbas” was formed by volunteers in 2014. They were severely tested by the battles for Karlivka, Popasna, Lysychansk, Ilovaisk, Mariupol, Debaltseve, Severodonetsk, Mayorsk, Kupyansk, Lyman, Rubizhne, Kreminna.
National Guard of Ukraine
